Watched Gods and Generals tonight... definately go see it, trust me, the movie makes up for the fact that it's almost four hours long. It made me think... I love movies that make me think.
It made me think about War. Like, war in general, and the history of warfare... I thought about the war movies that I like... Braveheart, The Patriot, Gettysburg... and you can watch the progression of war. We started with hand to hand combat, with swords and axes and bows... Then technology advanced to allow us to kill people from a distance... And wars were fought with guns... and then airplanes were adapted for war use. And now we kill people from a huge distance.... like, push a button in DC, and wipe out half a continent...
So all these technological advances have made war more "safe", I guess... less casualties for us, blah blah blah... More civilian casualties for them... but we won't get in to that here... but they've also made war less... human. If you fight hand to hand with your enemy, you see their face... you know who you're fighting... not some nameless faceless mass... or a geographical region.... people. You are fighting people. But when you drop bombs on people from a mile in the air... or nuke people from two continents away, you're fighting a country... or a government... or some other non-personal thing... It's hard to think that just as many soldiers from Iraq or Afganistan are sons and husbands and brothers... and they all have families, too.
Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying that war is inherently wrong, or that we shouldn't be in this war... I have yet to form my opinions on that. But the thought of war in general... it's so cold and sterile... and inhuman.
I think that's waht impressed me the most about Gods and Generals... both sides were so human... so real. Not Yankees or Jonny Rebs or blue coats or grey coats.... real live people... with real live families... and feelings... It didn't matter what side they were on... they fought for what they believed in.
But I shouldn't think this early in the morning. So I'm going to bed....
posted by Deedee 1:51 AM
This is my brain..... in part, at least.
